1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to exercise devices and more particularly, to devices for exercising in a water medium.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
Various types of apparati and devices have been proposed in the prior art for assisting in personal exercise. These prior art apparati and devices range from free-weights to various types and designs of exercise machines. Many of the prior art exercise machines incorporate a wide variety of multiple features for developing or exercising various parts of the body.
As the trend for exercising increases within the United States, more research is being performed on the benefits and detriments of the various types of exercises and exercising techniques. For example, many exercise experts believe that prolonged running on hard pavement results in a detrimental effect on various bones, ligaments and the like. Furthermore, many exercise machines such as free-weights may be dangerous if the operator is not accompanied by an assistant.
One of the safest forms of exercise heretofore utilized in the prior art is aquatic exercise. First, in an aquatic exercise, the resistance to motion is supplied only by the viscosity of water and therefore the danger of large weights is totally eliminated in aquatic exercise. Second, aquatic exercise tends to exercise almost all body muscles in contrast to other exercise forms which tend to concentrate on limited muscle groups. Accordingly, aquatic exercise has been considered by many to be the most balanced of all exercise forms.
In some cases, elderly or over-weight have difficulty with conventional forms of exercise. Aquatic exercise is particularly beneficial to elderly or overweight people since the water provides a natural buoyancy for the body. Consequently, a person exercising in water does not have to support their entire body weight during the exercise process.
Many in the prior art have realized the benefits of aquatic exercise and have proposed various types of devices for enhancing the aquatic exercise process by increasing the resistance to motion within the water. The prior art has provided various devices for attachment to the hand of a person. These prior art patents include U.S. Pat. Nos. D-196,689; 1,062,587; 1,546,670; 1,715,571; 1,754,704; 2,389,196; 4,458,896; 4,623,142 and 4,819,951 which illustrate diverse devices for attaching to the hand during aquatic use. In addition, the prior art has provided various devices for attachment to the foot of a person. These prior art patents include U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,146,470 and 4,632,387. U.S. Pat. No. 3,734,493 illustrates a device that is affixable to either a hand or a foot of a person. U.S. Pat. No. 1,517,930 to Jacobsen discloses a variable resistance swimming training device for retarding the forward motion of a swimmer.
Although various types of devices have been proposed by the prior art regarding swimming aids, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a superior apparatus for an improved aquatic exercise device for securing to a foot of a user immersed in water for inhibiting the foot movement of the user and including flotation means to partially support the user in the water.
Another object of this invention is to provide an aquatic exercise device for inhibiting the foot movement of a user whereby a user may walk, jog or run while immersed within water to obtain superior exercise results compared to conventional walking, jogging or running.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved aquatic device for securing to a foot of a user which is light weight and easy to manufacture at a reasonable cost.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved aquatic device for securing to a foot of a user wherein the device may be used within a conventional swimming pool or may be used within seawater.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved aquatic device for securing to a foot of a user wherein the buoyancy of the device may be altered depending upon whether the device is used in freshwater or is used in seawater and depending upon the buoyancy or exercise ability of the user.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the present invention. These objects should be construed as being merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention with in the scope of the invention. Accordingly other objects in a full under standing of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention, the detailed description describing the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.